After a relaxed afternoon of lounging, sipping on rosé and talking by the pool at our new, beautiful private riad, Riad Yasmine, all of our new friends had started to arrive. Again, everywhere you looked, the devil in the detail was what made our accommodation so special and ever so inspiring. Although everyone was quite jet-lagged, there definitely was no shortage of travel stories or loud shrieks of excitement.
After everyone had had the chance to settle in, shower and freshen up, before we knew it, a Moroccan feast was served for dinner and we all got to enjoy our first 'official' meal together. The evening was spent with personal introductions, getting to know eachother and 'oohs' and aaahs' over the purchases Pip and Julia had already made. The delight at what we could find in the coming days on our treasure hunting adventures was a little too much to conceal and the atmosphere was buzzing. It was almost as if we were in a dream - hazy heads and tired eyes were obvious, but we were soon to learn that nothing happens quickly in Morocco, especially 3 course meals, so an early night was out of the question.
Nevertheless, we all slept soundly and woke to another generous Moroccan breakfast of breads, flatbreads, fruit salad, yoghurt and fresh orange juice. This was definitely going to be an eating tour - you may as well forget about losing weight! After breakfast we were rounded up and led out to our own private bus and driver and off we went to visit the flea markets. The shenanigans that went on in this bus stay on tour, but it was the BEST way of getting around - we didn't have to think about a thing - something I'm not used to, but could definitely GET used to!
The flea markets are known for their cool and crazy collections of 'stuff'. Nothing gets thrown out in Morocco and everything is recycled or reused, so this was the place most of it ended up... old phones, electrical goods, clothes, fabrics, artefacts... even false teeth... we were bound for a bargain here! There was so much to see, but I loved foraging through all of the old doors, copper sinks, green ceramics, trinkets and bits of old hardware. There were so many treasures to be found here, but it did take time to find them.
 
After leaving the flea markets, we wound our way through the souks to Nomad Restaurant for a scrumptious lunch, and a great rooftop view before heading out for more shopping in the souks that afternoon.
We returned back to our home away from home, Riad Yasmine, sipped on more rosé, learnt more about each other and enjoyed more laughs before heading out for a sunset rooftop dinner at El Fenn (see, I told you it was an eating tour!). What a first day!
The next day held more exciting events... our private driver Hamza was waiting to take us to visit the Marjorelle Gardens and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum. Followed by another delicious lunch at La Terrasse des Epices in the Marrakech medina. Are you worn out yet? Well we weren't, so off to the Bahia Palace we went for our own guided tour with our personal shopping guide Moh...who had shown us through the souks over the last few days (I highly recommend Moh - if you are ever thinking of traveling to Morocco please get in touch and we can share his details!). But the day couldn't have been finished without more shopping could it? Of course not... However, in between all of this, we did a lot of walking through the winding streets... we visited traditional Moroccan bakeries, the basements of the hammams and learnt about day to day life in Morocco... there is always so much to see and so much to learn. I feel like we only just scratched the surface.
It was such a big day... we were all pretty exhausted. And as much as we felt like all we ever did was eat, we were all looking forward to what was in store for us for dinner! Limoni Restaurant here we come! Another very late night, more belly laughs and captivating stories... I have never slept so well!
But the next day held even more exciting adventures... like lunch at the Beldi Country Club and glamping in the Sahara Desert... oooohhhh... there could only be sweet dreams of what is to come...
 
 
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